Increasingly, through networks like Business Fights Poverty, and in the UK through organisations such as On Purpose, approaches that could be broadly categorised as social enterprise are beginning to take hold in a variety of different situations. This is particularly useful because in these challenging economic times, austerity is having a substantial impact on charitable donations. Social enterprise presents a new alternative. By making a triple bottom line investment, interested in people, planet and profit, you can achieve massive social and environmental benefits with limited economic resources. Investors have realised this new reality (Monitor and GIIN expect the market size to reach $500bn over the next 3-8 years, see here), but viable businesses with sufficient capacity to scale and absorb funds are surprisingly absent. As Felix Oldenburg, European Director of Ashoka recently stated: “The most common complaint from impact investors is the low deal flow in their industry”.

Directly addressing these challenges, the founders of ToughStuff developed the model for Start!e, an incubator focusing on clean energy and water businesses in the developing world (focusing principally on Africa and the Indian subcontinent). Start!e has been setup to facilitate the rapid creation of social businesses that protect the environment and reduce poverty, accelerating qualified and viable ideas from conception through financing to sustainable operation.

Start!e will generate, nurture, launch and spin out a number of social enterprises each year. Those businesses that pass through feasibility and pilot phases will themselves require their own seed funding. These investor-ready businesses can then be scaled up to multiply their triple bottom line returns.

Start!e has been developed working with On Purpose, a leadership programme for the next generation of high-flyers who will use the power of business to make a difference in the world. With the help of two Associates from this year’s programme, Start!e has set up the processes and team structure required to successfully develop, test and deploy business ideas which take a triple bottom line approach to some of the world’s most intractable problems. We’re already incubating our first few businesses which are set to have a transformative impact on the low-cost energy market in Madagascar and beyond.

For Start!e to reach its full potential, it must have a substantial engagement with the private sector and utilise the skills and networks present in various organisations that operate in a socially responsible manner on the African continent.  Start!e would be eager to hear from members of Business Fights Poverty who are looking for innovative ways to expand their positive impact, and Start!e something special!

If you are interested in finding out more about Start!e, please email peter.babudu@Start!e.co